A Critical Analysis of Ogungbemi’s Ethics of Nature-Relatedness  and Tangwa’s Ecobio-Communitarianism

Edor John Edor; Abel Idagu Ushie; Grace Ogelenya

doi:10.21697/seb.5849

Published: 2025-05-05

Vol. 23 No. 4 (2025)

A Critical Analysis of Ogungbemi’s Ethics of Nature-Relatedness and Tangwa’s Ecobio-Communitarianism

Edor John Edor

, Abel Idagu Ushie

, Grace Ogelenya

Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.21697/seb.5849

Abstract

Global concerns about the environmental crisis have sparked diverse ethical responses, including normative environmental ethics, sentient ethics, biocentric ethics, ecocentric ethics, and ecofeminist ethics. While these approaches are deeply rooted in Western cultural perspectives, addressing global environmental challenges demands broader, cross-cultural insights. Given that African philosophers are now concerned with environmental issues and philosophising, it becomes necessary to contribute to this nascent field of African environmental philosophy. This paper contributes to the growing literature in African environmental philosophy by critically analysing the works of Segun Ogungbemi and Godfrey Tangwa. Ogungbemi advocates for an “ethics of nature-relatedness,” emphasizing the interdependence of humans and nature, while Tangwa proposes “ecobio-communitarianism,” which underscores the interconnectedness of all living beings and non-living entities within the ecosystem. The aim of this critical analysis is to deepen the discourse on African environmental ethics and highlight the potential contributions of ethics of nature-relatedness and ecobio-communitarianism to global environmental philosophy.

Keywords:

African Environmental Ethics, Ethics of Nature-Relatedness, Ecobio Communitarianism, Environmental Philosophy, African Philosophy

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Edor, E. J., Ushie, A. I., & Ogelenya, G. (2025). A Critical Analysis of Ogungbemi’s Ethics of Nature-Relatedness and Tangwa’s Ecobio-Communitarianism. Studia Ecologiae Et Bioethicae, 23(4), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.21697/seb.5849

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Callicott, Baird. 2005. “The Land Ethic: Animal Liberation and Environmentalism.” In Morality and Moral Controversies: Readings in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy, 7th edition, edited by John Arthur, 287-296. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Google Scholar

Chemhuru, Munamato. 2019. African Environmental Ethics: A Critical Reader. Switzerland: Springer Nature. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18807-8
Google Scholar

Chimakonam, Jonathan O. 2018. African Philosophy and Environmental Conservation. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315099491
Google Scholar

Enyimba, Maduka. 2019. “Environmental Sustainability and Development in Africa: An Egbe Bere Ugo Bere Approach.” International Journal of Environmental Pollution and Environmental Modelling 2(3): 153-159.
Google Scholar

Fadahunsi, Ayo. 2007. “Challenging Africa's Environmental Crisis: The Ethical Imperative.” Accessed February 10, 2025. www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/2009/09abstracts_a-g.htm.
Google Scholar

Feldman, Susan. 1998. “Some Problems with Ecofeminism.” Paper delivered at the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, August 10-15, 1998. www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Envi/EnviFeld.htm. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/wcp20-paideia199822391
Google Scholar

Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony, and Ejikemeuwa, J O Ndubisi. 2022. “Proverbs as Sources of African Environmental Ethics: Articulating Indigenous Eco-Spiritual Wisdoms.” In Dialogue on African Philosophy and Development: Proceedings of 2022 International Conference of Association for the Promotion of African Studies (APAS), edited by Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu, Ejikemeuwa, J O Ndubisis and Jude Onebunne, 147-193. Maryland: Trebleclef Lane Silver Spring.
Google Scholar

Leopold, Aldo. 1966. A Sand County Almanac: with Essays on Conversation from Round River. New York: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar

Murove, Munyaradzi F. 2009. “An African Environmental Ethic Based on the Concepts of Ukama and Ubuntu.” In African Ethics: An Anthology of Comparative and Applied Ethics, edited by Munyaradzi F. Murove, 315-331. Pietermaritzburg: University of Kwazulu-Natal Press.
Google Scholar

Nneji, Bellarmine. 2010. “Eco-Responsibility: The Cogency for Environmental Ethics in Africa.” Essays in Philosophy 11(1): 31-43. https://doi.org/10.5840/eip201011117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/eip201011117
Google Scholar

Ogungbemi, Segun. 1997. “An African Perspective on the Environmental Crisis.” In Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application, edited by Louis J. Pojman, 330-337. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Google Scholar

Ojomo, Philomena A. 2011. “Environmental Ethics: An African Understanding.” African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 5(8): 572-578. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/tp.v2i2.64100
Google Scholar

Osuntokun, Akinjide. 2001. Environmental Problems of the Niger-Delta. Ibadan: Davidson Press.
Google Scholar

Pojman, Louis J. 1997. “On Ethics and Environmental Concerns.” In Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application, edited by Louis J. Pojman, 1-3. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Google Scholar

Regan, Tom. 1986. Animal Sacrifices: Religious Perspectives on the Use of Animals in Science. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Google Scholar

Rolston, Holmes. 1989. Environmental Ethics: Duties to and Values in the Natural World. Philadelphia: Prometheus Books.
Google Scholar

Singer, Peter. 1975. Animal liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals. New York: Random House.
Google Scholar

Tangwa, Godfrey. 2004. “Some African Reflections on Biomedical and Environmental Ethics.” In A Companion to African philosophy, edited by Kwasi Wiredu, 387-395. Oxford: Blackwell publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470997154.ch31
Google Scholar

Warren, Karen. 1994. “The Power and Promise of Ecological Feminism.” In The Environmental Ethics and Policy Book, edited by Donald van DeVeer, Christine Pierce, 125-146. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics199012221
Google Scholar

Yang, Tongjin. 2006. “Towards an Egalitarian Global Environmental Ethics: Environmental Communitarianism.” In Environmental ethics and international policy, edited by Henk ten Have, 23-45. Paris: UNESCO.
Google Scholar